The Voices of the People
Democratic participation in European Urban Centers in the Late Middle Ages
May 25-26, 2023
This event proposes a discussion of the forms of democratic participation encountered by the people of the urban world of the late Middle Ages (XIVth to XVIth centuries). Here lived and worked different social groups, distinguished by their economic and professional status, but also by their greater or lesser capacity to intervene in the management of the res publica.
For this purpose, we will host a roundtable discussion followed by a conference. In these events, we will count on the participation of 4 keynote speakers - distinguished historians within the European historiography on these themes - and 8 lecturers who will propose their papers.
The Call for Papers for The Voices of the People. Democratic participation in European Urban Centers in the Late Middle Ages is open to all researchers who study the Middle Ages from various perspectives: history, art history, archaeology, philosophy, literature, and sociology...
The conference will take place on the 25th and the 26th of May 2023 in the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. Each proposal will be evaluated by a scientific committee and the results will be announced by the end of March 2023.
All proposals should fall within one of the following thematic strands:
- Urban local government in late medieval Europe;
- The local governing elites;
- The political participation (formal or informal) of other social groups - the role of artisans/peasants/marginals;
- The role of women and/or ethnic-religious minorities in the management of urban community life;
- Administrative reforms on local power in the late Middle Ages;
- Movements/Moments of contestation/revolt in Europe of the late Middle Ages;
- The capacity of collective organization in medieval urban centers - confraternities and/or guilds;
- Defining concepts.
Please, send your proposal by accessing the following link: Call for Papers - The Voices of the People
The deadline for submission of proposals is 12th of February 2023 (Extended deadline). Each participant will be allowed a 20 minutes presentation followed by a discussion. The working languages are English (preferably), Portuguese, Castilian, and French.
Organized by Marco Alexandre Ribeiro and the Cultural Encounters and Intersecting Societies Research Group.
Scientific Committee
Ana Maria Rodrigues (CH-ULisboa, Court Studies and Diplomacy Research Group)
Armando Norte (CH-ULisboa, Cultural Encounters and Intersecting Societies Research Group)
Covadonga Valdaliso Casanova (CH-ULisboa, Uses of the Past Research Group)
Filipa Roldão(CH-ULisboa, Building and Connecting Empires Research Group, Cultural Encounters and Intersecting Societies Research Group)
Hermenegildo Fernandes (CH-ULisboa, Cultural Encounters and Intersecting Societies Research Group, Uses of the Past Research Group)
Manuela Santos Silva (CH-ULisboa, Court Studies and Diplomacy Research Group, Uses of the Past Research Group)